For more information, visit www.keefejackson.com or http://myspace.com/keefejacksonsfastcitizens

Keefe Jackson's Fast Citizens is a Chicago group which is exploring the boundaries between composition and improvisation. Jackson, saxophonist and principal composer, formed the group in 2003. ...Jackson's marbled tone expresses a lovely lyricism no matter how brusque or serrated his lines get." -Chicago Reader.

In 2004 they held a residency at Chicago's famous club the Hideout, during which time the group developed a formidable cohesiveness. Their music has broadened and even redefined the idea of a cooperative" band.

The group includes saxophonist Aram Shelton and cellist Fred Lonberg-Holm, who also compose for the group, and cornettist Josh Berman, drummer Frank Rosaly, and bassist Anton Hatwich.

Ready Everyday is the first recording from the Fast Citizens, it came out in October 2006 on Delmark Records. Berman, Jackson, and Rosaly, along with Marc Unternhrer, are members of the Chicago Luzern Exchange, whose 2005 debut Several Lights" (Delmark Records) received great critical and audience acclaim.

[The Fast Citizens] synthesize a wide range of influences - Mingus and Sun Ra foremost among them - characterized by a spiritual quest that is often ecstatic, and a structural coherence that is all the more impressive for seeming to result from a quasi-telepathic interaction." --Dominique Denis, L'Express, Toronto

I grew up listening to my father's jazz records and listening to the radio. My dad was a musician for many years as a vocalist, bassist and drummer. His two uncles played in the Symphony of Reggio Calabria back in Italy

I grew up listening to my father's jazz records and listening to the radio. My dad was a musician for many years as a vocalist, bassist and drummer. His two uncles played in the Symphony of Reggio Calabria back in Italy. So music and jazz specifically have been a part of me since I was born. I love and perform in all styles of music from around the world. Improvisation in jazz is what drew me in, and still does as well as other genres that feature improvisation. A group of great musicians expressing themselves as one is the hallmark of great jazz and in fact all great music.